Vegan suan cai yu (Sichuan hot and sour soup with plant based fish)
My take on this tangy, savoury, spicy Sichuan soup utilises fermented mustard greens and/or napa cabbage. Depending on the vegan fish you use, you'll need to be mindful of preparation. I discuss this in more depth earlier in my post.
Servings: 2 people, with rice
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tablespoons sichuan peppercorns
- Dried chillies to taste (snipped into segments)
- 2 spring onions white and green parts separated, sliced
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic divided
- 1 teaspoon grated or minced fresh ginger
- 150 grams fermented napa cabbage or pickled mustard greens roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 500 millilitres sodium free stock or water
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper or more, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon salt or more, to taste
- 1-2 pieces vegan fish or to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons potato starch mixed with 2 tablespoons cool water
Instructions
Prep the soup
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan to medium-low heat. Add the sichuan peppercorns and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the dried chillies, white part of the spring onion, 2 teaspoons of the garlic, and the ginger. Continue cooking, stirring regularly, until the chillies turn a shade or two darker and the garlic begins to turn golden.
- Turn the heat to medium high and add the fermented mustard greens and/or fermented napa cabbage. Fry until some of the liquid from the fermented vegetables has cooked off, around 3-5 minutes.
- Add the Shaoxing rice wine and stir fry for 15-20 seconds before tipping the stock or water in. Season with the sugar, white pepper, and salt. Wait for the contents to boil and then turn the heat down so you've got a low simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Prep the fish
- This is an optional step, but I prefer the texture.Heat a few millilimetres of oil in a small nonstick frying pan to medium heat. Cut your fish into bite sized or whatever-size-you-like pieces. Combine the potato starch and water in a cereal bowl or a small saucer with a rim. Coat the fish pieces lightly and carefully place in the pan, with some space between the pieces so they don't stick together. Fry for a couple of minutes and then flip. Cook, flipping every so often, until golden and crispy on both sides. Remove to a plate.
Dish up
- Decant the soup to a serving bowl, if using. Sprinle over the green parts of the spring onion and the remaining 1 teaspoon of raw garlic. Layer the fish on top. Eat with freshly steamed rice.